Automatic orientation of a camera in response to sensor data

ABSTRACT

Movements of a pan and tilt camera may be controlled by reorienting the camera in response to discrete information obtained by the camera from a related but independent device such as a sensor so that the camera can capture video of events of potential interest to a user. Such sensors can respond to multiple stimuli such as, for example, sound, motion, light, pressure, humidity, and/or the like. The cameras can include, for example, pan and tilt and zoom (PTZ) cameras that can be used in monitoring and surveillance operations. For example, the pan and tilt camera can be used as a surveillance camera at a home, business, vacation, or any other property.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/074,563 filed on Nov. 3, 2014 and entitled “AUTOMATICORIENTATION OF A CAMERA IN RESPONSE TO SENSOR DATA,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to camera control.

BACKGROUND

Many people equip homes and businesses cameras for surveillance. Themovement of some cameras may be controlled to control a view of thecamera. For example, some cameras may pan or tilt.

SUMMARY

Techniques are described for controlling a camera.

Implementations of the described techniques may include hardware, amethod or process implemented at least partially in hardware, or acomputer-readable storage medium encoded with executable instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, perform operations.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exploded view of an example pan andtilt camera.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D are images of the example pan and tilt camerafrom different orientations.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the possible fields of view of the panand tilt camera when the pan and tilt capabilities of the camera areenabled.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the different components of anexample camera control system.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments described herein relate generally to methods forremotely controlling the movements of a data acquisition device inresponse to a sensor data. In particular, but not by way of limitation,some of the embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatusfor remotely controlling the movements of a pan and tilt camera byreorienting the camera in response to discrete information obtained bythe camera from a related but independent device such as a sensor sothat the camera can capture video of events of potential interest to theuser.

Methods and techniques are described herein for controlling themovements of a camera by reorienting the camera in response to discreteinformation obtained by the camera from a related but independent devicesuch as a sensor so that the camera can capture video of events ofpotential interest to a user. Such sensors can respond to multiplestimuli such as, for example, sound, motion, light, pressure, humidity,and/or the like. The cameras can include, for example, pan and tilt andzoom (PTZ) cameras that can be used in monitoring and surveillanceoperations. For example, the pan and tilt camera can be used as asurveillance camera at a home, business, vacation, or any otherproperty. The pan and tilt cameras can perform continuous panning and/ortilting in a set of pre-defined desired directions. Thus, the pan andtilt camera can view an object moving continuously around the camerawithout the need to reverse pan or tilt directions to return to aninitial starting position before continuing to pan or tilt in theoriginal direction. The pan and tilt camera can provide a compact devicethat is capable of performing surveillance and monitoring operationswithout the rotational limitations of known cameras.

The methods and system described for controlling the movements of acamera can allow the camera to coordinate its movement in response to anevent detected by an external device, such as a sensor that detectsmotion (e.g., a door opening, a window opening, etc.), using a methodwhereby the sensor can alert the camera to such an event and a cameracontrol application (e.g., the control “software”) can be made aware ofthe orientation required to aim the angle of view of the camera towardsuch a sensor. Such orientation of the camera towards the direction of asensor in response to receiving sensor data can be implemented by anumber of methods as described herein.

In some implementations, pan and tilt cameras are IP- or cloud-baseddevices and transmit video data over networks for a user to view on aremote device such as, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptopcomputer, etc. In these implementations, to adjust the angle of view ofthe camera, a camera control application can provide a mechanism wherebydesired input co-ordinates included in a control signal can be used topan or tilt the camera in any particular desired direction.

In some cases, pan and tilt cameras point in one direction and can bereoriented either manually by a user via a camera control application(e.g., software control), or can be programmed to periodically reorientto a pre-defined view. This method, however, does not present a highlikelihood for a user to capture an off-screen event of significance(e.g., the off-screen event may be completed by the time a user manuallyreorients the camera or the off-screen event may be missed if the eventdoes not align with the programmed reorientation of the camera).

In some examples, methods and apparatus control the movement of a cameraby orienting the camera towards the location of a sensor in response toreceiving data from the sensor so that the camera can capture video ofevents of potential interest to the user. In this regard, the cameraautomatically reorients to an event of potential interest, which mayallow for improved image capture of off-screen events.

Accordingly, techniques are described for remotely controlling themovements of a data acquisition device in response to sensor data. Inparticular, but not by way of limitation, some examples described hereinrelate to methods and apparatus for remotely controlling the movementsof a pan and tilt camera by reorienting the camera in response todiscrete information obtained by the camera from a related, butindependent device, such as a sensor, so that the camera can capturevideo of events of potential interest to the user.

As used herein, and unless stated otherwise, the terms “pan and tiltcamera” and “camera” can be used interchangeably to refer to an imageacquisition device that can tilt and rotate along a set of angles toacquire video and static images.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a pan and tilt camera 100. The pan andtilt camera 100, as shown, includes an upper portion that includes fourouter sections: a base 110, lower body 120, upper body 130, and lenshousing 140 that can, in some implementations, cumulatively form acylindrical structure. The base 110 is also connected to a power cable160, and features a slip ring 170 for coupling the electrical powersupplied by the power cable 160 to the functional components of thecamera 100 without the need for a wired connection. The sections of thepan and tilt camera 110-140 (e.g., base, upper and lower body sections,and lens housing) may be formed in any number of materials, such as anyplastic, metal, alloy, composite material, ceramic material, or othermaterial. In some implementations, the pan and tilt camera 100 canfeature a fixed base 110, where the fixed base 110 is connected to apower cable functioning to provide a power source to the camera 100. Thebase 110 can be of a cylindrical or disk-like shape, having a flatbottom that enables the pan and tilt camera 100 to be mounted to or siton a surface such as, for example, a ceiling, wall, roof, window sill,floor, table, etc. Connected to the base 110 is the lower body 120,which is, in turn, connected to the upper body 130. The lower and upperbodies 110-120 are formed such that the two bodies can, in someimplementations, appear to form a single cylinder that has beentransected at an angle 122. Attached to the upper body 130 is the lenshousing 140, which can include the different components that enable thepan and tilt camera 100 to perform monitoring activities. For example,the lens housing 140 can feature one or more sensor devices 145 (e.g.,one or more video cameras, still cameras, infrared cameras, night visioncameras, etc.) or other devices capable of capturing static imagesand/or video from the environment surrounding the pan and tilt camera100. In some instances, the lens housing 140 can feature otherelectronics and circuitry required to operate the one or more cameradevices. Furthermore, in some implementations, the lens housing 140 canalso feature one or more other sensors, such as one or more microphones,motion sensors, contact sensors, light sensors, environmental ormonitoring sensors, and/or the like.

The base 110 can be a fixed component of the camera 100, such that thebase 110 is stationary while the camera 100 is performing pan or tiltoperations. Additionally, the base 110 may feature a fixture configuredto connect to a power cable 160 for providing electrical power to thecamera 100. For example, the base 110 may feature an outlet or plug thatallows a power cable 160 to be connected to the base 110, or a powercable 160 may be permanently connected to the base 110. The base 110shown in FIG. 1 further features a slip ring 170 that can connect thepower connection from the attached power cable 160 to the lower body 120of the camera. In doing so, the camera 100 can perform continuousrotation about the vertical axis, without limitations caused by twistingor other issues associated with a corded connection from the base 110 tothe lower body 120 of the pan and tilt camera 100.

The pan and tilt camera 100 can pan, e.g., rotate horizontally about avertical axis, based on the lower body 120 rotating in a clockwise orcounterclockwise direction with respect to the fixed base 110. Thecamera 100 can tilt, e.g., move in a direction that is about ahorizontal axis, based on the upper body 130 rotating with respect tothe lower body 120. Since the upper body 130 and lower body 120 are thetransection portions of the cylindrical structure of the camera 100, theupper body 130 can move in an arc-like motion having components in boththe vertical and horizontal directions. The lens housing 140 connectedto the upper body 130 opposite the lower body 120 includes a sensordevice 145 that is capable of capturing static images and/or video fromthe environment surrounding the pan and tilt camera 100.

FIGS. 2A-2D are images of the pan and tilt camera 100 from differentorientations. The pan and tilt camera (or the camera) 100 includes abase 110, lower body 120, upper body 130, and lens housing 140 that can,in some implementations, cumulatively form a cylindrical structure.Referring to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2A-2D, the cylindrical structure of thecamera 100 is transected across its diameter along the vertical axis asrepresented by the line GG′ in FIG. 2A (or perpendicular to thehorizontal axis HH′) to form the bottom section of the camera thatincludes the base 110 and the lower body 120. In some implementations,the base 110 may have a height that is approximately twenty percent ofthe total height of the cylindrical camera structure, with the othereighty percent being accounted by the lower body 120, upper body 130,and lens housing 140 sections. The cylindrical structure of the camera100 is transected at an angle across its diameter, thereby forming thelower body 120 and upper body 130 of the camera 100. In someimplementations, the angle between the horizontal axis HH′ and the topof the lower body 120 may be in the range of 45 degrees to 55 degrees,or may be different depending upon the requirements of the application.In operation, the lower body 120 of camera 100 enables the camera 100 topan, based on the lower body 120 of the camera rotating in a clockwiseor counterclockwise fashion about the vertical axis GG′. The pan andtilt camera 100 can also tilt, e.g., move in an arc-like direction abouta horizontal axis as represented by the line HH′ in FIG. 2D.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the possible fields of view of the panand tilt camera when the pan and tilt capabilities of the camera areenabled. While these illustrations generally describe the capabilitiesof the pan and tilt camera 100 to monitor various fields of view, thespecific fields of view available to the pan and tilt camera 100according to this description may be dependent upon certain designcharacteristics of the pan and tilt camera 100. For instance, bychanging the angle at which the cylindrical camera structure istransected to form the upper body 130 and lower body 120, the range ofthe tilt movement of the lens housing 140 may be adjusted.

The range of possible fields of view of the pan and tilt camera 100 maybe described by a modified hemisphere 141, such that the possible fieldsof view of the pan and tilt camera 100 range from the zenith 142 of themodified hemisphere 141 (e.g., along the vertical axis represented bythe line GG′ passing through the pan and tilt camera 100) to a point 146below the horizon 144 of the modified hemisphere 141 (e.g., a pointbelow the horizontal axis HH′). The pan and tilt camera 100 is capableof performing imaging at any point along this range from the zenith 142to the point near or below the horizon 144 and in any direction aroundthe vertical axis GG′, that is, the pan and tilt camera 100 can becapable of performing 360 degree imaging at any tilt that is describedby the modified hemisphere 141.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate possible fields of view of the pan and tiltcamera 100, as well as possible configurations of the pan and tiltcamera 100 that enable the camera 100 to achieve those fields of view.While these illustrations generally describe the capabilities of the panand tilt camera 100 to monitor various fields of view, the specificfields of view available to a particular pan and tilt camera 100according to this description may be dependent upon the particulardesign characteristics of the pan and tilt camera 100. The range ofpossible tilt positions of the camera can be specified based on theangle that the cylindrical body of the pan and tilt camera is transected122. Generally, a steeper angle (e.g., an angle of fifty five degreesfrom the horizontal) allows the pan and tilt camera 100 to have a fieldof view that is further below the horizontal than a shallower angle(e.g., an angle of 45 degrees from the horizontal). For example, asshown in FIG. 3, the body of the cylindrical camera structure istransected at a fifty five degree angle relative to the horizontal axisHH′, and is capable of performing tilt movements that range from thezenith 142 of the modified hemisphere 141 to a point that is twentydegrees below the horizontal 146. In contrast, if the cylindrical camerastructure were transected at a forty five degree angle, the range ofpossible tilt movements would be only from the zenith 142 of themodified hemisphere to a point at the horizon 144 (i.e., zero degreesbelow the horizon) of the modified hemisphere 141.

FIG. 4 illustrates different components of an example camera controlsystem 200. The camera control system 200 includes a camera 210, anetwork 220, a remote motion sensing device 230, a remote sound sensingdevice 240, a remote temperature sensing device 250, and a communicationdevice 260. The camera control system 200 is a system for controllingthe movements of the camera 210 by reorienting the camera 210 inresponse to discrete information obtained from the remote sensingdevices 230-250 so that the camera 210 can capture video images ofevents of potential interest to a user. The camera 210 can be, forexample, a pan and tilt camera that can be positioned and/or orientedbased on the particular set of data received from one or more of theremote sensing devices 230-250. FIG. 4 shows the camera 210 to beoperatively coupled to three remote sensing devices 230-250 and onecommunication device 260 as an example only, and not a limitation. Inother configurations, the camera 210 can be operatively coupled to morethan one communication device 260 and more than three or less than threeremote sensing devices 230-250.

The communication device 260 can be, for example, a server, a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a smartphone, and/or the like.The communication device 260 can send data and/or receive data from thecamera 210 and the different remote sensing devices 230-250 using avariety of wireless communication protocols, such as, for example, aWi-Fi® protocol, a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX) protocol, a Bluetooth low energy technology (BTLE) protocol, acellular protocol (e.g., a third generation mobile telecommunications(3G) or a fourth generation mobile telecommunications (4G) protocol), 4Glong term evolution (4G LTE) protocol), and/or the like.

The network 220 can be any type of network (e.g., a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a virtual network, and/or atelecommunications network) implemented as a wired network and/or awireless network and can include an intranet, an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) and the Internet, a cellular network, and/or the like.The remote motion sensing device 230 can detect the motion of objectsand people in a pre-defined area and can alert or send a signal to thecommunication device 260 and/or the camera 210 to notify the user of themotion in the pre-defined area. The remote motion sensing device 230 canbe, for example, a passive infrared (PIR) motion detector, a microwavemotion detector, an ultrasonic motion detector, a Tomographic motiondetector, and/or the like. The remote motion sensing device 230 can be abattery-operated sensor that can operate on, for example, Wi-Fi®technology and can be placed in various areas an environment (e.g., ahome, an office, a school, etc.). The remote motion sensing device 230sends a signal to the communication device 260 and/or the camera 210 tonotify the user of movements of objects and/or people in the pre-definedarea.

The remote sound sensing device 240 can detect sound strength in apre-defined region around the remote sound sensing device 240 and caninclude a microphone and associated electronics to amplify and/or filterthe detected sound signal. The remote sound sensing device 240 can be abattery-operated sensor that can operate on, for example, Wi-Fi®technology and can be placed in various areas an environment (e.g., ahome, an office, a school, etc.). The remote sound sensing device 240can send a signal to the communication device 260 and/or the camera 210to notify the user of the sound levels in the pre-defined area.

The remote temperature sensing device 250 can be any analog and/ordigital temperature sensor, such as, for example, infra-red (IR)thermopile temperature sensors, thermocouples, silicon bandgaptemperature sensors, resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), and/or thelike. The remote temperature sensing device 250 can be abattery-operated sensor that can operate on, for example, Wi-Fi®technology and can be placed in various areas in an environment (e.g., ahome, an office, a school, etc.). The camera 210 can communicate withthe remote sensing devices 230-250 using any of the wireless protocolsdescribed above to receive motion data, sound data and/or temperaturedata, respectively. Upon detection of the temperature levels, the soundlevel and the motion information in the vicinity of the different remotesensing devices 230-250, the orientation of the camera 210 can beadjusted or altered to point the camera 210 in the direction of thedifferent remote sensing devices 230-250 for capturing video images(s)of events of potential interest to the user.

In some implementations, the camera control system 200 can include oneor multiple differential radio antennae that are either attached to thebody of the camera 210 or are remote from the camera 210 and can beoperably coupled to the camera 210 via the wireless technologiesdescribed above. In such implementations, the signals received by thecamera 210 from such differential radio antennae can be transmitted tothe communication device 260 for further processing. Using such signals,a camera control application (e.g., the control “software”) cantriangulate the direction and/or the angle of the radio (or wireless)transmission from the different remote sensing devices 230-250. In someinstances, the camera control application can be executing in thecommunication device 260, and in other instances, the camera controlapplication can be executing in the camera 210. The camera controlapplication can then calculate the degrees of change of angle of view ofthe camera 210 from its current position (or a pre-defined homeposition) that is needed for aiming the camera 210 towards the directionof the remote sensing devices 230-250.

In such implementations, two or more differential radio antennae may berequired to accurately calculate the timing differences in reception ofa given signal from the remote sensing device 230-250. In someinstances, when three differential antennae are present, accuratedetermination of the direction of the remote sensing device 230-250 canbe made at any angle around the camera 210. In such instances, one ofthe antenna is at a different height when compared to the other twoantennas, and thus the vertical angle of the remote sensing device230-250 can also be determined with accuracy. In such implementations,any of the remote sensing devices 230-250 can send a signal to thecamera 210 indicating that an event of interest had occurred, and canthen transmit a series of signals interpretable by the camera 210 (e.g.,the camera control application) as direction finding signals. The camera210 can then be re-oriented in the direction of interest and can capturevideo data of an event of potential interest to a user.

In other implementations, the camera control system 200 can include adirectional antenna located inside of a movable portion of the camera210. In such implementations, the camera 210 can scan its environment byrotating the appropriate section containing the directional antennawhile scanning or “listening” for source signals from the differentremote sensing devices 230-250. Such source signals can include anidentifier for the remote sensing device 230-250 (e.g., an IP address ofthe remote sensing device 230-250). In the area of a received signal,the camera 210 can record the signal strength and the direction of thesignal based upon deviation from a pre-defined home position in degrees.The home position can be a set of co-ordinates used to define relativemovements of the camera 210. The co-ordinates of the home position canchange, however, if the camera 210 is, for example, manually moved froma first geographic location to a second geographic location. Once thesignal data from the remote sensing devices 230-250 are collected, thecamera 210 can detect and record the specific location of each remotesensing device 230-250 and the precise location of the greatest signalstrength. When the camera 210 subsequently receives notification of anevent from a particular remote sensing device 230-250 (that is includedits list of “visible” remote sensing device 230-250), the camera 210 canbe automatically re-oriented to the desired direction.

In yet other implementations, setup of the camera control system 200involves a user first placing the camera 210 in a fixed location,followed by a user placing the different remote sensing device(s)230-250 in locations of interest within view of the camera 210, and thenthe user manually reorienting the camera 210 such that the view angle ofthe camera 210 is aimed toward the remote sensing device or any relatedobject of interest. This is followed by the camera control applicationrecording the location and orientation of the camera 210 as a setpre-defined view angle. In such implementations, subsequently, when theremote sensing device (either 230 or 240 or 250) sends a signal to thecamera 210 or sends a signal to a related home automation system that inturn sends the signal to the camera 210, the camera 210 can bereoriented to the area of interest and can capture video signals ofpotential events of interest.

In some implementations, with respect to sound signals, the camera 210can be constructed in such a manner as to include multiple microphones(e.g., three microphones) such that given the sound wave propagationtiming differences of sounds arriving at the differential microphones,the direction and angle of the source of the sound signal (or soundwave) can be triangulated. The cameral control application (e.g.,executing on either the camera 210 or the communication device 260) cancalculate the desired change in the view angle from the current positionof the camera 210 (or with respect to the home position) to aim thecamera 210 in the direction of the sound so that the camera 210 cancapture video signals of potential events of interest.

In some implementations, the camera control system 200 coordinates panand tilt of multiple cameras based on priority schemes. In theseimplementations, multiple sensors may trigger at a particular time (orwithin a relatively short time window, such as within one second) andthe camera control system 200 evaluates the priority schemes tocoordinate movement of the multiple cameras in a manner that bestcaptures the multiple potential events of interest in accordance withthe priority schemes. For instance, the priority schemes may define aranked list of sensor triggers and the camera control system 200coordinates movement of the multiple cameras based on the ranked list.In this regard, if a camera detects multiple sensor triggers indifferent locations, the camera reorients toward the sensor triggerranked highest in the ranked list of sensor triggers, even it thatresults in moving away from a lower ranked event of potential interest.Also, the camera control system 200 may identify, from among themultiple cameras, a first camera with the best view of the highestranked sensor trigger and, based on the identification, control thefirst camera to pan and/or tilt toward the highest ranked sensortrigger. Then, the camera control system 200 may identify, from amongthe multiple cameras other than the first camera, a second camera withthe best view of the next ranked sensor trigger and, based on theidentification, control the second camera to pan and/or tilt toward thenext ranked sensor trigger while the first camera captures images of alocation of the highest ranked sensor trigger. In this case, the secondcamera is used for the lower ranked sensor trigger, even if the firstcamera has a better view of the next ranked sensor trigger than thesecond camera.

The priority schemes may account for any variables described throughoutthis disclosure including the types of sensor triggers, the locations ofthe sensor triggers relative to the cameras, the quality of the cameras,the field of view of the cameras, image quality, etc. For example,multiple cameras may be oriented toward the same location if thelocations of the sensor triggers are relatively close together. Also, ahigher quality camera may be oriented toward a higher ranked sensortrigger, even if a lower quality camera is closer to and has a betterfield of view of the higher ranked sensor trigger. Further, a sensortrigger may be ignored if none of the cameras are able to capture anarea of the sensor trigger in sufficient detail. In this case, multiplecameras may orient toward a single event, rather than attempting tocover all of the events.

The priority schemes also may account for different times of day (ordays of the week) and/or different alarm states of a security system ata property. For example, a sensor related to movement of a pet may beprioritized over a sensor related to a safe based on the time of daybeing between eight in the morning and eight in the evening and thesecurity system being disarmed and the sensor related to the safe may beprioritized over the sensor related to movement of the pet based on thetime of day being between eight in the evening and midnight and thesecurity system being armed—away.

In some examples, the camera control system 200 may anticipate potentialevents of interest and use the anticipated events to control cameramovement. In these examples, the camera control system 200 may have aset of anticipated potential events that occur shortly after anotherpotential event of interest. For example, if an intruder enters througha window, the intruder is expected to leave through the back door. Inthis example, the camera control system 200 defines an anticipated eventof back door exit that is anticipated to occur after detection of awindow opening or breaking and control one or more cameras to orient tothe back door based on detection of a window or glass break sensorindicating that the window has been opened or broken. The camera controlsystem 200 may track potential events of interest over time and deriveanticipated events based on the tracking.

In some implementations, the camera control system 200 may account forimage processing in coordinating camera movement. In theseimplementations, the images captured by cameras in the camera controlsystem 200 may be analyzed in real-time (or near real-time) and theimage analysis may be used to control movement of the cameras. Forexample, the image analysis may include analyzing the captured images todetermine whether the view of the camera is obstructed and/or whetherthe camera captures images of an object of potential interest. In thisexample, the image analysis may capture the current images to backgroundimages to identify obstructions and/or objects of potential interestand/or may analyze the images for moving objects and/or objects having asize and shape of an object of potential interest (e.g., the size andshape of a human body). The camera control system 200 may react based onthe image analysis in an attempt to best capture events of potentialinterest. For instance, the camera control system 200 may control acamera to pan to a different area if its' view is obstructed and maymaintain a camera's field of view if an object of potential interestremains in the captured images.

In some examples, cameras may include a default setting that is invokedbased on a sensor trigger not being found. For instance, a camera maynot be able to find a location of a sensor because of a sensormalfunction or the sensor being destroyed. In this case, the camera mayenter a default mode in which it begins uploading images andperiodically pans and/or tilts throughout its full range of motion.

The camera control system 200 also may include exterior cameras that arelocated exterior to a property. In this case, the camera control system200 may control the exterior cameras in the same manner as interiorcameras and coordinate the movement of the exterior cameras with theinterior cameras. For instance, the camera control system 200 may detecta side door being opened and then control the exterior cameras to imagean area of the side door and/or an area of anticipated movement from theside door.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for controlling a camera. Theoperations of process 500 are generally described as being performed bythe camera 210. In some implementations, operations of the process 500may be performed by one or more processors included in one or moreelectronic devices, e.g., the communication device 260.

The camera 210 determines a mapping of identities of sensors to viewingangles of the camera 210 (510). The camera 210 may associate each sensorwith a unique identifier, e.g., unique a media control access (MAC)address or Internet Protocol (IP) address for each sensor, and associateeach of the unique identifiers with a particular viewing angle. Forexample, for a motion sensor directly in front of the camera 210 and asound sensing sensor behind and below the camera 210, the camera 210 mayassociate a unique identifier of “04AE” with the motion sensor andassociate a viewing angle of zero degrees tilt and zero degrees turnwith the motion sensor and associate a unique identifier of “04AF” withthe sound sensing sensor and associate a viewing angle of ten degreestilt downwards and one hundred eighty degrees turn with the soundsensing sensor.

The camera 210 may determine the mapping of identities of sensors toviewing angles of the camera 210 based on determining a location of eachof the sensors and corresponding identifiers, determining a viewingangle associated with each of the locations, and generating for each ofthe sensors, a mapping between the identity of the sensor and thedetermined viewing angle. For example, the camera 210 may determine thatthe remote motion sensing device 230 is directly in front of the camera210 and has a unique identifier of “04AE,” determine that the remotesound sensing device 240 is behind and below the camera 210 and has aunique identifier of “04AF,” determine that a viewing angle associatedwith a location directly in front of the camera 210 is associated withzero degrees tilt and zero degrees turn, and determine that a viewingangle associated with a location behind and below the camera 210 isassociated with a ten degree tilt downwards and a one hundred eightydegree turn, and generate a table indicating that the unique identifier“04AE” maps to a viewing angle of zero degrees tilt and zero degreesturn and the unique identifier “04AF” maps to a viewing angle of tendegree tilt downwards and one hundred eighty degree turn.

In some implementations, the unique identifiers of the sensors may beconstant values that are stored by the sensors and provided by thesensors to the camera 210 in response to a request from the camera 210for identifiers of sensors. In other implementations, the uniqueidentifiers of the sensors may be uniquely assigned by the camera 210 inresponse to the sensors indicating their presence to the camera 210.

In some implementations, the camera 210 may determine the location ofeach of the sensors using two or more differential radio antennae andone or more signals from the sensor. The camera 210 may determine thelocation of each of the sensors relative to the camera 210 based ontiming differences when a particular signal is received by the two ormore differential radio antenna. For example, as described above inregards to FIG. 4, the camera 210 may determine that the remote motionsensing device 230 is directly in front and level to the camera 210based on determining that antennae at the top and bottom of the camera210 sensed a signal at the same time, antennae at the left and right ofthe camera 210 sensed the signal at the same time, and an antenna at thefront of the camera 210 sensed the signal before an antennae at the backof the camera 210.

In other implementations, the camera 210 may determine a location ofeach of the sensors based on determining a direction of the sensorrelative to the camera 210 based on a strength of one or more signalsfrom the sensor measured by a directional antenna. For example, asdescribed above in regards to FIG. 4, the camera 210 may determine thata signal from the remote motion sensing device 230 that is directly infront and level with the camera 210 is strongest when a directionalantenna of the camera 210 is facing directly forward and level to theground.

The camera 210 may store the mapping (520). In particular, the camera210 may store the mapping of identities of sensors to viewing angles ofthe camera 210. For example, the camera 210 may store a generated tablethat indicates that the unique identifier “04AE” maps to a viewing angleof zero degrees tilt and zero degrees turn and the unique identifier“04AF” maps to a viewing angle of ten degree tilt downwards and onehundred eighty degree turn.

The camera 210 may receive sensor data from a sensor (530). For example,the camera 210 may receive sensor data from the remote motion sensingdevice 230 that indicates that motion has been detected and the uniqueidentifier of the sensor providing the sensor data is “04AE.”

The camera 210 determines that an event of interest has been detectedand an identity of the sensor that detected the event of interest (540).For example, the camera 210 may determine that sensor data from theremote motion sensing device 230 indicates a unique identifier of “04AE”and movement for a duration of two seconds that is great than athreshold duration of one second, and in response, the camera 210 maydetermine that an event of interest has been detected by a sensor withthe unique identifier of “04AE.”

In response to determining an event of interest has been detected and anidentity of a sensor that detected the event of interest, the camera 210may access the mapping of identities of sensors to viewing angles of thecamera 210 that is stored by the camera 210 (550). For example, inresponse to determining that the sensor with the unique identifier of“04AE” has detected an event of interest, the camera 210 may access astored mapping including a mapping for the identifier “04AE.”

The camera 210 references the accessed mapping using the identity of thesensor that detected the event of interest to obtain a viewing angle ofthe camera 210 appropriate for an area of the property associated withthe sensor that detected the event of interest (560). For example, thecamera 210 may reference the accessed mapping using the uniqueidentifier “04AE” which is mapped to a viewing angle of zero degreesturn and zero degrees tilt, and in response, obtain a viewing angle ofzero degrees turn and zero degrees tilt.

The camera 210 determines that a current viewing angle of the camera 210differs from the viewing angle of the camera 210 appropriate for thearea of the property associated with the sensor that detected the eventof interest (570). For example, the camera 210 may determine that acurrent viewing angle of the camera 210 is ninety degrees to the rightand five degrees up and the current viewing angle is different than aviewing angle of zero degrees turn and zero degrees tilt that isappropriate for the area of the property associated with the sensor withthe unique identifier “04AE” that detected the event of interest.

In response to determining a difference in the viewing angles, thecamera 210 moves from the current viewing angle to the viewing angle ofthe camera 210 appropriate for the area of the property associated withthe sensor that detected the event of interest (580). For example, thecamera 210 may move from a current viewing angle of ninety degrees tothe right and five degrees up to zero degrees turn and zero degreestilt. In response to determining no difference in the viewing angles,the camera 210 may not move.

In some implementations, after moving, the camera 210 may provide one ormore images with the viewing angle that is appropriate for the area ofthe property associated with the sensor that detected the event ofinterest. In some implementations, the camera 210 may receive sensordata from multiple sensors and detect multiple events of interests fromthe sensor data, and in response, determine whether to move a viewingangle of the camera 210 based on a priority scheme. As described abovein reference to FIG. 4, in some implementations, the priority scheme maybe based on one or more of time of day, quality of the camera 210,availability of other cameras, or location of the sensor relative to thecamera 210.

As described above in reference to FIG. 4, in some implementations, thecamera 210 may determine an anticipated event based on the sensor data,determine a location that maps to the anticipated event, determine aviewing angle of the camera 210 that maps to the location that maps tothe anticipated event, and cause the viewing angle of the camera 210 tomove to the viewing angle of the camera 210 that maps to the locationthat maps to the anticipated event. For example, the camera 210 maydetermine that a sensor data from a front door sensor indicates that afront door has opened, an anticipated event is that motion will bedetected in a foyer, determine a viewing angle of the camera 210 for thefoyer, and cause the viewing angle of the camera 210 to move to theviewing angle of the camera 210 corresponding to the foyer.

In some implementations, the camera 210 may change a viewing angle ofthe camera 210 based on determining from images captured by the camera210 that a view of the camera 210 is obstructed. For example, asdescribed above in reference to FIG. 4, the camera 210 may identify amoving object of interest in images, determine that the object isobstructed, and move the viewing angle of the camera 210 based on theobstruction.

The described device and techniques may be implemented in any materialand using any process capable of forming the described structures and ofperforming the described actions. The described systems, methods, andtechniques may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, computerhardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of these elements.Apparatus implementing these techniques can include appropriate inputand output devices, a computer processor, and a computer program producttangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device for execution bya programmable processor. A process implementing these techniques can beperformed by a programmable processor executing a program ofinstructions to perform desired functions by operating on input data andgenerating appropriate output. The techniques can be implemented in oneor more computer programs that are executable on a programmable systemincluding at least one programmable processor coupled to receive dataand instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a datastorage system, at least one input device, and at least one outputdevice. Each computer program can be implemented in a high-levelprocedural or object-oriented programming language, or in assembly ormachine language if desired; and in any case, the language can be acompiled or interpreted language. Suitable processors include, by way ofexample, both general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memoryand/or a random access memory. Storage devices suitable for tangiblyembodying computer program instructions and data include all forms ofnon-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memorydevices, such as Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory(CD-ROM). Any of the foregoing can be supplemented by, or incorporatedin, specially designed application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

It will be understood that various modifications can be made. Forexample, other useful implementations could be achieved if steps of thedisclosed techniques were performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in the disclosed systems were combined in a different mannerand/or replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:determining, by a camera located in a monitored property, a mapping ofidentities of sensors to viewing angles of the camera, the sensors beinglocated in the monitored property at locations remote from a location ofthe camera; storing, by the camera and in electronic storage accessibleto the camera, the mapping of identities of sensors to viewing angles ofthe camera; after storing the mapping of identifies of sensors toviewing angles of the camera, receiving, by the camera, sensor data fromat least one of the sensors that are located in the monitored propertyat locations remote from the location of the camera; determining, fromthe received sensor data and by the camera, that an event of interesthas been detected and an identity of a sensor that detected the event ofinterest; in response to determining that the event of interest hasoccurred: accessing, by the camera and from the electronic storageaccessible to the camera, the mapping of identities of sensors toviewing angles of the camera; referencing, by the camera, the accessedmapping using the identity of the sensor that detected the event ofinterest to obtain a viewing angle of the camera appropriate for an areaof the property associated with the sensor that detected the event ofinterest; determining, by the camera, that a current viewing angle ofthe camera differs from the viewing angle of the camera appropriate forthe area of the property associated with the sensor that detected theevent of interest; and moving, by the camera, from the current viewingangle to the viewing angle of the camera appropriate for the area of theproperty associated with the sensor that detected the event of interest.2. The method of claim 1, comprising: providing one or more images fromthe camera when the current viewing angle of the camera matches theviewing angle of the camera appropriate for the area of the propertyassociated with the sensor that detected the event of interest.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein sensor data includes information thatuniquely identifies the sensor that detected the event of interest fromother sensors that are located in the monitored property and informationthat indicates that the sensor has detected the event of interest. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by a camera located in amonitored property, a mapping of identities of sensors to viewing anglesof the camera, the sensors being located in the monitored property atlocations remote from a location of the camera comprises: for each ofthe sensors located in the monitored property, determining a location ofthe sensor; for each location of a sensor, determining a viewing angleof the camera that maps to the location of the sensor; and generatingfor each of the sensors located in the monitored property, a mappingbetween an identify of the sensor and the viewing angle determined forthe location of the sensor.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereindetermining a location of the sensor comprises: determining the locationof the sensor relative to the camera using two or more differentialradio antennae and one or more signals from the sensor.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein determining the location of the sensor relative to thecamera using two or more differential radio antennae and one or moresignals from the sensor comprises: determining the location of thesensor relative to the camera based on timing differences when aparticular signal is received by the two or more differential radioantennae.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein determining a location ofthe sensor comprises: determining a direction of the sensor relative tothe camera based on a strength of one or more signal from the sensormeasured by a directional antenna.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thesensors comprise one or more of a temperature sensor, a motion sensor,or sound sensor.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein moving, by thecamera, from the current viewing angle to the viewing angle of thecamera appropriate for the area of the property associated with thesensor that detected the event of interest comprises: providinginstructions to the camera to one or more of pan or tilt so that theviewing angle of the camera matches the viewing angle of the cameraappropriate for the area of the property associated with the sensor thatdetected the event of interest.
 10. The method of claim 1, comprising:receiving sensor data from a second sensor that is located in themonitored property at a location remote from the location of the camera;determining from the sensor data from the second sensor that a secondevent of interest has been detected and an identity of the second sensorthat detected the second event of interest; and in response todetermining that the event of interest and the second event of interesthave both been detected, determining to access a priority scheme toselect which of the first sensor and the second sensor to cause thecamera to move so that the viewing angle of the camera moves to theviewing angle mapped to the identity of the selected sensor.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the priority scheme is based on one or moreof time of day, quality of the camera, availability of other cameras, orlocation of the sensor relative to the camera.
 12. The method of claim1, comprising: determining an anticipated event based on the sensordata; determining a location that maps to the anticipated event;determining a viewing angle of the camera that maps to the location thatmaps to the anticipated event; and causing the viewing angle of thecamera to move to the viewing angle of the camera that maps to thelocation that maps to the anticipated event.
 13. The method of claim 1,comprising: determining from images captured by the camera that a viewof the camera is obstructed; and in response to determining from imagescaptured by the camera that a view of the camera is obstructed, changinga viewing angle of the camera.
 14. A system comprising: one or morecomputers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that areoperable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the oneor more computers to perform operations comprising: determining, by acamera located in a monitored property, a mapping of identities ofsensors to viewing angles of the camera, the sensors being located inthe monitored property at locations remote from a location of thecamera; storing, by the camera and in electronic storage accessible tothe camera, the mapping of identities of sensors to viewing angles ofthe camera; after storing the mapping of identifies of sensors toviewing angles of the camera, receiving, by the camera, sensor data fromat least one of the sensors that are located in the monitored propertyat locations remote from the location of the camera; determining, fromthe received sensor data and by the camera, that an event of interesthas been detected and an identity of a sensor that detected the event ofinterest; in response to determining that the event of interest hasoccurred: accessing, by the camera and from the electronic storageaccessible to the camera, the mapping of identities of sensors toviewing angles of the camera; referencing, by the camera, the accessedmapping using the identity of the sensor that detected the event ofinterest to obtain a viewing angle of the camera appropriate for an areaof the property associated with the sensor that detected the event ofinterest; determining, by the camera, that a current viewing angle ofthe camera differs from the viewing angle of the camera appropriate forthe area of the property associated with the sensor that detected theevent of interest; and moving, by the camera, from the current viewingangle to the viewing angle of the camera appropriate for the area of theproperty associated with the sensor that detected the event of interest.15. The system of claim 14, comprising: providing one or more imagesfrom the camera when the current viewing angle of the camera matches theviewing angle of the camera appropriate for the area of the propertyassociated with the sensor that detected the event of interest.
 16. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein sensor data includes information thatuniquely identifies the sensor that detected the event of interest fromother sensors that are located in the monitored property and informationthat indicates that the sensor has detected the event of interest. 17.The system of claim 14, wherein determining, by a camera located in amonitored property, a mapping of identities of sensors to viewing anglesof the camera, the sensors being located in the monitored property atlocations remote from a location of the camera comprises: for each ofthe sensors located in the monitored property, determining a location ofthe sensor; for each location of a sensor, determining a viewing angleof the camera that maps to the location of the sensor; and generatingfor each of the sensors located in the monitored property, a mappingbetween an identify of the sensor and the viewing angle determined forthe location of the sensor.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereindetermining a location of the sensor comprises: determining the locationof the sensor relative to the camera using two or more differentialradio antennae and one or more signals from the sensor.
 19. The systemof claim 18, wherein determining the location of the sensor relative tothe camera using two or more differential radio antennae and one or moresignals from the sensor comprises: determining the location of thesensor relative to the camera based on timing differences when aparticular signal is received by the two or more differential radioantennae.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing softwarecomprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, uponsuch execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operationscomprising: determining, by a camera located in a monitored property, amapping of identities of sensors to viewing angles of the camera, thesensors being located in the monitored property at locations remote froma location of the camera; storing, by the camera and in electronicstorage accessible to the camera, the mapping of identities of sensorsto viewing angles of the camera; after storing the mapping of identifiesof sensors to viewing angles of the camera, receiving, by the camera,sensor data from at least one of the sensors that are located in themonitored property at locations remote from the location of the camera;determining, from the received sensor data and by the camera, that anevent of interest has been detected and an identity of a sensor thatdetected the event of interest; in response to determining that theevent of interest has occurred: accessing, by the camera and from theelectronic storage accessible to the camera, the mapping of identitiesof sensors to viewing angles of the camera; referencing, by the camera,the accessed mapping using the identity of the sensor that detected theevent of interest to obtain a viewing angle of the camera appropriatefor an area of the property associated with the sensor that detected theevent of interest; determining, by the camera, that a current viewingangle of the camera differs from the viewing angle of the cameraappropriate for the area of the property associated with the sensor thatdetected the event of interest; and moving, by the camera, from thecurrent viewing angle to the viewing angle of the camera appropriate forthe area of the property associated with the sensor that detected theevent of interest.